


Sunset

by Yamitay



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:09:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27038482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yamitay/pseuds/Yamitay
Summary: Just something short and fun to take my mind off the depressing mess that is 2020
Relationships: Lilith Clawthorne/Insert
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

Yamitay strode along the dirt path toward the cliffside, his staff twirling in his left hand as he continuously failed to whistle a correct tune. ‘Can never seem to get those high notes just right’ he thought to himself with a frown. He shrugged off his disappointment and continued on whistling, occasionally catching himself counting his steps.

Sunsets on the Boiling Isles were certainly among the more underrated compared to other places he’d traveled to and he never failed to catch them at his favorite spot when he was visiting. Sunset would be approaching soon and he had no intention of breaking tradition today—maybe next week? Would he even still be here next week?

He pulled his phone from the hidden pocket within his cloak and pulled up his calendar.

Strange that this thing even had a connection here. It felt like some convenient plot hole, but he wasn’t about to complain over a good thing. He glanced up from his phone but was surprised to see that his favorite spot was already occupied.

‘That’s odd.’

The only person he knew that actually lived out this far was that old—and surprisingly foxy—witch and her tiny, skull-headed friend. There was also that strange, tube-like atrocity to nature but it never paid him any mind so he never bothered to care much about it.

His mind snapped back to focus.

That old lady seemed lax enough, but he never took her for the type to travel out here just to sit and watch a sunset. Heck, she even heckled him on occasion for doing just that!

No, this was someone different. She had long, straight hair as black as night… Or was it blue? He noticed a gray streak along one side and wondered if it might be just the sunlight reflecting off of it, but upon closer inspection he judged that his eyes didn’t deceive him.

She sat hunched over, arms folded in front of her and legs dangling from the cliffside, hidden by a long, black skirt. From this distance, it almost looked like she was crying.

Yamitay scrunched his nose, realizing that he’d stopped whistling a while ago. ‘Oh gods, what if she thinks I’m sneaking up on her? Play it cool, relax. Just carry on like it’s normal. And stop counting your steps!’ He began whistling again, starting low and carefully raising to a louder volume to make it seem as though he were approaching from a further distance. Hopefully that wouldn’t worry her.

She stopped suddenly, glancing over her shoulder at him and quickly turning her head forward to wipe her face and compose herself.

“Evening!” he said as he stepped up a few feet beside her, “Hope you don’t mind sharing. This is my favorite spot to watch the sunset.”

She looked at him with a raised brow, “I haven’t seen you around here before.”

Yamitay shrugged, “Yeah, I don’t get a chance to come here often except for work. You move in around here recently?”

She looked away, “A couple weeks ago, actually. You said you were here for work?”

Yamitay nodded, turning his attention to the horizon—he absolutely would _not_ mis that sunset, “Yeah, trying to find someone. Maybe you’ve seen him around? Kinda tall, blue eyes, soft voice, looks like a jerk?”

The woman scoffed, “I suppose one person comes to mind. He wears this ridiculous gold mask though, so I couldn’t really describe his face.”

Yamitay pondered for a moment, lightly scratching his chin with the head of his staff, “That does sound a bit like something that prick would wear.”

She laughed softly to herself. 

Yamitay smiled at this but suddenly jumped, “I’m so sorry, I completely forgot to introduce myself! You can call me Yamitay. That’s not my _actual_ name, but it is what some people call me.”

The woman looked up at him with a faint smile, “That’s a peculiar name.”

“I have a few.” Yamitay said.

The woman smiled deeper now, “You don’t seem like one of the Emperor’s loyalists…”

Yamitay smirked at that, “Oh right, I’d heard you guys recently got one of those. Shame if you ask me. Seemed like everything was doing just fine before then.”

“Lilith Clawthorne.” The woman said softly, “My name…”

Yamitay smiled at her, “May I sit?”

Lilith lifted a white staff from the ground beside her—somehow, he’d failed to notice that until now—and moved it to rest on her other side. She then patted the ground beside her, “Please do.”

Yamitay twirled his own staff one last time and tossed it to his right hand. He heard it clomp against the dirt a moment later and froze on the spot, his mouth drawing to a line.

Lilith stared at the fallen staff for a moment with wide eyes, then looked up at him, “Your…”

“I know.” He said. “I tried to look cool, and I’ve learned my lesson.” Lilith let out a laugh as Yamitay reached his right hand out and the staff flew upwards into his palm. He grasped it and then proceeded to sit down beside Lilith before setting the bottom point down on the ground and leaving it to stand on its own beside him. Lilith was still laughing, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she tried to cover her mouth with one hand, but that only prompted Yamitay to laugh along with her.

“You’re a very strange man.” Lilith breathed, her laughter finally dying down. She wiped a tear from her grayed eye—while her other eye appeared to be an aqua blue… very interesting—and asked, “You said you come here to watch the sunset? Why come here? There’s certainly other places to get a better view.”

Yamitay turned his gaze towards the horizon, “Sure, there are spots where it’s much more visible. But this spot here? The way the light reflects off the water, and how the rocks frame it so perfectly; this is by far the best place to really _see_ it.” He squinted for a moment, then turned to her, “You’re telling me you’ve lived here two whole weeks and not once seen it?”

Lilith raised a hand to brush a lock of hair behind her pointed ear, “It’s been… a difficult two weeks.”

Yamitay looked back to the horizon, “Tell me about it. Some guy popping in outta nowhere and taking over, telling everyone that their way of life is wrong and that only _he_ knows how things are meant to be? Tale as old as time, and lemme tell you; it never ends well.” He paused, “I mean, except for those stories where said guy gets deposed and everyone else lives happily ever after because of it. Those stories are more my speed.”

Lilith clasped her hands together in her lap, “What about the stories where some fool believes that man in power was right, and foolishly follows him and it destroys her life, as well as those around her?”

Yamitay sighed, “Sadly, there’s a lot of those. Usually doesn’t end well for the followers either.” He glanced at Lilith and blinked, realization setting in. He quickly turned back to the sunset, “Although…”

Lilith braved a look at him through the corner of her eye.

Yamitay continued, “There’s also the stories of those underlings who realize the side they’re on wasn’t what they thought it was. And when they do, that’s when they have the choice to either continue following the crowd, or stepping out and doing the right thing.” He looked at her with a grin, “And those are some of my favorite stories.”

Lilith’s hands clenched tighter, “I’m not sure my sister would see it that way.”

Yamitay chewed at the inside of his cheek, “I take it you two didn’t exactly see eye to eye on some things. And some people got hurt along the way?”

Lilith nodded, but then her eyes snapped open with shock. He quickly turned to him, “Why am I telling you all this? I just met you!”

Yamitay shrugged, “Maybe that makes me the perfect person to talk to. Third party with no connections, no biases, and no judgement? And also—if you don’t mind me saying—I’m assuming you don’t have anyone else to talk to if you’re living all the way out here?”

Lilith huffed, a pained expression creeping across her face. She turned to stare at the horizon, “You hit the nail on the head. My sister and I have… reconnected. She even smiles at me and laughs, pulls her silly pranks. But I can’t help feeling like she resents me for what I’ve done. And she has every right to. I cursed my own sister! I mean, I was still a child, and I thought it would only be temporary but… At the end of the day I’ve ruined her life!”

Yamitay sighed and leaned back, his hands rested on the ground behind him as he stared at the horizon—that sunset was getting close—and said with a casual tone, “So, you messed up. You made a mistake—albeit a pretty big one. What are you gonna do about it now?”

Lilith looked at him, clearly taken aback. “I… I mean… What is there _to_ do?”

Yamitay shrugged, “Make it right.” He pushed himself up to lean forward, elbows now resting on thighs, his eyes still locked on that horizon, “Do what you can. Apologize and try to be better. Most people think that when they mess up, that’s it. I try to see things differently. As long as you’re still here, there’s always a chance to turn things around and make it better. The one’s who refuse to do that are the only ones who are really lost.”

Lilith unclasped her hands and looked at them, “I don’t… I mean it’s not as if I can undo the curse. I wouldn’t even know where to start! And to have done it for such selfish reasons…”

“Trust me.” Yamitay said quietly.

Lilith looked at him and saw that the cheeky grin was gone, replaced by a blank stare hiding a broken, pained boy.

He continued softly, “If someone like me can be redeemed…” He turned to her, the grin returning as sunlight reflected off his brown eyes, “Then there’s an abundance of hope for you.”

Lilith stared at him, eyes wide. She turned her gaze toward the horizon where the sun was finally setting, and let a single tear roll down her cheek as her lips curled into a smile. It was that moment she felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Hope filled her up inside for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

Yamitay couldn’t help but stare at her as sunlight lit up her face. It seemed almost as if she were glowing now. It occurred to him, however, that it wasn’t the sunlight causing that. This woman sitting beside him was beaming, but it was just her.

Even now as the sunlight faded, she was still as bright as day.

Lilith blinked and turned to face him with another pained expression, “I’m so sorry! You missed the sunset because you were too busy talking to me!”

Yamitay smiled and rose to his feet, “Don’t worry about it. I had the honor of seeing something much more beautiful tonight.” He paused, catching himself, “If you don’t mind me saying, I mean.” He gave a nervous smile.

Lilith smiled and rose to her feet, “You weren’t wrong. The sunsets here are lovely. I hope I get the opportunity to share it with you again.”

Yamitay relaxed from that, smiling a bit more confidently now—but mostly fighting to push down the feeling of butterflies in his stomach, “I’d like that very much, Lilith Clawthorne.”

Lilith reached out her hand to call her staff, “Please… Call me Lili.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek, before turning to walk away.

Yamitay felt his face grow hot and reached his hand out to grab hold of his staff but missed and stumbled to the ground, the smear of black lipstick still present on his cheek. He quickly hopped back to his feet and collected himself before grabbing his staff. He smiled to himself, watching as Lilith vanished over the hill, then he turned to face the darkened horizon over the water.

Perhaps he could stay a week after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belos makes a new friend and Eda is a supportive sister

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun with the first chapter and decided to keep it going. Plus, it also helps take my mind off of 2020

Faulice considered himself a patient man. He took his time with methods of gentle nudges and sight moves. Foresight was his greatest ally and he made full use of it at every opportunity. He was calm, cool, relaxed, no matter the circumstances.

Yes, Faulice considered himself to be a _very_ patient man.

Two dozen guards splayed out on the floor however, would likely assume he had no idea what the word ‘patient’ actually meant. At least, they would if they were alive.

But he assumed that at least most of them were—it wasn’t as if he expended any effort in getting them out of his way. 

Three dozen guards hanging from the walls and ceiling probably thought he was a monster who had never even heard of the word ‘patient’ before.

Kikimora wasn’t quite sure what to call him, except maybe terrifying. Part of her wondered if he might even be more powerful than Emperor Belos; though with each step he took, that wonder became more and more prevalent.

The emperor, however, didn’t appear to be phased by this stranger. He merely sat in his throne, calm as always, the rhythmic beat of the heart above remaining slow.

“Your grace.” Faulice said with a far too cheery tone. He had a soft, low pitched voice and spoke with a level of informality unfit for such a grand audience. “I’ve come a long way to meet you, and yet you haven’t even offered me a drink. I hoped someone with a position like yours would be a bit more accommodating to the weary traveler. And when I was so king enough to bring with me a gift. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”

Belos slowly rapped a finger against his armrest, “Kikimora, a moment of privacy?”

Kikimora gasped, “My liege, surely you don’t intend for me to leave you unguarded against this—”

“I doubt there’s more that you can do where so many others have failed so spectacularly. Give us the room. Now.”

Kikimora stared aghast for a long moment, before bowing and leaving the room without a word.

Belos waited until she knew she was out of earshot and then stood, “That was quite a show, but someone like you must know that my level of magic can’t be compared to the likes of these mere…”

Faulice chuckled, “I wouldn’t be so naïve, Emperor. But with all that knowledge and power you wield, I’m sure you can tell already that you still wouldn’t be a match for me.”

“Whether I live or not is the will of the Titan. And as I—”

“Yes, yes. You alone can speak with your god and his will is your will—a tale as old as gods themselves. I’m not here to listen to you preach like one of your sycophants. I’m only here to offer you my assistance, should you choose to accept it.”

Belos drilled the man’s piercing blue eyes with his own. “What could you possibly offer me that I don’t already have? All my plans are perfectly on schedule, and—”

Faulice cut him off midsentence as he began to stroll around the half-destroyed throne room, “An authoritarian system can be very difficult for the common man. It restricts their lifestyle, their choices; but they learn to make do and to except it over time. What most people don’t know is the amount of work it takes for those in power to maintain that system. In order to keep the people you rule over compliant, you have to ensure that they don’t get ideas—that they don’t get the silly notion in their heads that life could be better.”

Belos squinted, “What does that have to do with…”

Faulice continued, seemingly not even paying the emperor any mind at this point, “Because once they discover a newer, better way for things to be run, they start talking about it. And then ideas lead to questions, to solutions. In time, they realize that these newer, better ways _are_ possible.” He stopped and faced Belos, blue eyes piercing, “And then they finally ask the question. What do they need _you_ for?”

Belos took a step forward, the butt of his staff striking the floor in a loud, echoing crack. “The children of the Isles are loyal to _me_.”

“They _were_.” Faulice said. He moved closer, stopping in front of Belos, staff hitting the ground with another deafening crack, “Until a little girl stood above them and said ‘no.’ They were; until a rogue witch—along with her traitorous sister, a halfwit demon, and a _human_ gained their sympathies and evaded your clutches before the eyes of every citizen of the Isles.” He grinned, raising both hands to rest atop the tiger-shaped palisman upon his staff, “Now they question you. It doesn’t matter whether you can speak with this ‘Titan’ or not. Your reign has ended. You’re simply waiting for them to realize it.”

Belos glared distastefully for a long time before finally speaking, “And what exactly would _you_ do about all this?”

With a nearly silent chuckle, Faulice lowered his left hand and twirled his staff in his right before holding it behind his back. He stepped closer until his face was mere inches from Belos, eyes locked. “This is going to be exciting…”

\--

“Eda, you’ve gotta practice!” Luz exclaimed.

Eda just rolled off the couch and onto the floor groaning like she had been for the past hour. “Kid, I appreciate the help, trust me, but this is feeling a lot like school. And I think we both know how well that worked out.”

Luz frowned, “Well, seeing as how your magic is gone and we just made ourselves public enemies, don’t you think it’s important to be able to use glyph magic in order to defend yourself in case this emperor guy decides to send more goons after us?”

Eda snorted, “I dunno if you forgot, but the last time that dweeb sent an army to my front door I didn’t have to lift a finger.”

Suddenly the door swung open and Hooty’s voice filled the room, “Iiiiiii don’t even haaaave fingers!”

“Not now Hooty!” Luz snapped.

The door remained open with Hooty blankly staring into the house.

King groaned as he lay on the floor beside Luz, “Luz, I think we should just call it a day. Eda’s clearly as bad at being a student as she is being a teacher.”

“Hey!” Eda bolted up into a sitting position, “I’m a _great_ teacher! Or did you forget that my top student went head-to-head with the emperor?”

King hopped to his furry little feet, “She’s your _only_ student! And you only taught her _one_ spell! By _accident_! And she mostly figured that out on her own too.”

Eda leaned forward, teeth bearing, “How about we flash back to that giant worm you ‘trained’ oh so well if you wanna poke at my teaching methods.”

“Guys, please calm down.” Luz pleaded. Feeling exhausted, she sighed, “Maybe we _should_ call it a day. It’s already dark out anyway and I feel like I could fall asleep any second.”

“Make sure you eat first.” Eda said standing. “Lilith and I will eat when she gets back.”

Luz blinked, “Wait a sec… Where _is_ Lilith? She never misses lessons.”

Eda shrugged, scratching at her back as she said, “I wouldn’t worry about it. Maybe she finally hooked up with someone. She never did have much luck dating.”

“How many exes do you have?” King asked.

“Cram it.” Eda snapped.

Just then, Lilith rushed inside, throwing the door shut with an excited grin.

Eda smirked, “Speak of the witch—”

Lilith ran to her and placed both hands on her shoulders, “Edalyn, I know I’ve said it before but I want to apologize for what I did to you—the curse, chasing you al those years, everything! And you have my word that I’m going to do everything in my power to make things right, no matter how long it takes!”

Eda raised a brow, “Did you hit your head out there…?”

“Eda? Is Lilith okay?” Luz asked, rising to one knee.

Lilith turned to face Luz and dropped to her knees, “That goes for you too human—I mean… Luz. I’m sorry for everything I put you through. And I want you to know that I’m going to make it up to you, however I can. For starters, I’d like to thank you for sharing what glyph magic you’ve learned with me. I don’t know how I can repay you for that, but somehow I’ll find a way.”

Luz gave a nervous laugh, “Uh… yeah. Sure.” She moved back and climbed to her feet, “Eda, I’m gonna go eat and get to bed. I’ve gotta meet Gus and Willow before class tomorrow so we can go over notes for our test.” She ran out of the room, King trailing behind her proclaiming something about how he should be given first servings, being the king of demons and all.

Lilith rose back to her feet to face Eda, “I’ll clean up after dinner tonight so you can relax.”

Eda snorted, “Are you kidding? We both know what happened the last time you handled a broom. What’s gotten into you?”

Lilith looked away with a blush and a nervous grin, hands clasped together, “Well, I might’ve met someone tonight.”

Eda laughed, snorting again, “Ha! Called it. Guess I still got some magic in me after all.”

Lilith raised a brow, “What are you talking about?”

“Ah nothing.” Eda replied, sitting down on the couch. “So, my sister finally caved in and jumped on the dating bandwagon. Never thought I’d see the day.”

Lilith’s face lit up pink as she sat down on the other end of the couch, “Well, I mean… We aren’t necessarily…”

Eda gasped, “You’re kidding me! _You_ have a crush? And they didn’t ask you out?”

Lilith refused to make eye contact, “It’s… I mean he… Look, do you want me to tell you what happened or not?”

Eda shrugged, “As long as I don’t have to tell you about any of my exes.”

“I would beg you to never tell me about any of that. Ever.”

“Then please, go on.

Lilith took a deep breath. ‘Where to begin?’ she wondered. “Well he’s a traveler—said he came to the Boiling Isles for work purposes.”

“Ooh! So, is this a short-term fling then? Lili, you must be taking after me.”

Lilith rolled her eyes, “I was sitting by the cliffside when he arrived. He seemed to appear out of nowhere! He just strolled up whistling the most horrid tune and then asked if he could sit with me. He said he liked to frequent this area to watch the sunset and—”

“Hold on!” Eda cut in. “Did he… have a witch’s staff?”

Lilith blinked in surprise, “He did. I believe his palisman was a wolf.”

Eda’s eyes suddenly went wide and she breathed in hard before belting out in laughter, head thrown back and legs kicking. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” she cried through tears. “You’re telling me _that_ guy caught your eye? Oh, this is rich!”

“You… know him?” Lilith asked.

Eda wiped a tear from her eye and gasped a few times for breath before finally settling down enough to speak, “Not exactly. Every now and then he’ll stroll by the house to sit at the cliff and watch the sunset. I never bothered to learn his name or anything but sometimes I’ll poke fun at him when he goes by. What a weirdo.”

Lilith twiddled her fingers in her lap, subtly shifting in her seat as she asked, “Would you… happen to know anything about him?”

Eda shrugged, “Not much. Seems like a lax guy, always in a good mood. He knows how to take a joke at the very least; he usually laughs at whatever I say to him when he goes by.” She glanced at Lilith who was looking down but listening intently, then smiled, “But I guess he’s not bad looking. You could say he’s charming, if that’s what you’re into.”

Lilith smiled contently at the ground.

Eda sighed, “Well, I’m gonna go eat before King decides to serve himself more than he can eat. You’d think he’d learn his lesson after the first five-thousand times but nope!” She stood up from the couch and made her way out of the living room, “When you’re done fantasizing, come on and eat. I could probably use your help with the dishes if you can handle it.”

Lilith huffed, determination in her eyes, “Dear sister, perhaps you’ve forgotten incident number eighty-three in your school record?”

“You read my record?”

“I didn’t need to. If you’ll recall, I was _there_.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yamitay continues his search and Lilith gets embarrassed.

“I’m afraid I haven’t.” Hieronymus Bump said in his scratchy voice.

Yamitay sighed, rubbing his chin with his thumb and index finger.

Bump shook his head, “I’m sorry to have wasted your time like this.”

“It’s fine.” Yamitay said, lowering his hand to his side. “On the bright side, at least he hasn’t caused you or your students any trouble.”

Bump chuckled, “I’d pity anyone coming to my school looking for trouble.”

Yamitay raised a brow, a grin slowly beginning to creep across his face as he eyed the principal, “You’re not still using that outdated form of detention, are you?”

Bump lowered his head with a frustrated sigh, “Not at the moment. It’s currently under repairs after an incident with a new student.”

“Can’t help but notice you failed to regard them as a ‘former’ new student. Gone soft, Bumpikins?”

“I don’t know what I hate more; that you call me that, or that others are now calling me that as well. Though I am hoping that this was a one-time event. This new transfer student seems to have a good head on her shoulders and—with any hope—lacks the taste for disaster her current mentor had in her day.”

Yamitay smiled at that. Bump always seemed to have a rough exterior, but anyone who knew him in the slightest could tell that he valued teaching above all else. He wasn’t perfect, but he was certainly one of the good ones. Out of the corner of his eye, Yamitay caught sight of a small flyer on one of the message boards hanging on a wall in the hallway. Turning on his heels, he walked toward it, Bump pausing for a moment in surprise before following behind. Yamitay pulled the flyer from the board and read it aloud, “Human Appreciation Club? This is new.”

“Oh yes.” Bump said smiling, “It actually starting to gain popularity until the title of club president was turned over to another student.”

Yamitay frowned to himself, still reading through the flyer. “You don’t think someone found me out on my previous visit, do you?”

“Oh, of course not.” Bump said waving a dismissive hand. “I can assure you; your identity is safe. Human items have been on the market lately and it’s begun to spark an interest with some folk.”

Yamitay nodded, satisfied with this explanation. As long as this development was an occurrence brought on by the Isles’ inhabitants themselves, he could rest easy. He returned the flyer to the board and turned to face Bump and allow him to continue the tour. “Tell me about this new student. Do you think she might have something to do with—”

“Oh, certainly not.” Bump interrupted. “From what I’ve learned, she arrived from the human world about a month ago. Much earlier than… Well, you know.”

Yamitay nodded, “You say she came from the human world? You allowed a human to enroll at Hexside?”

“I believe there are a great many things we could learn from one another. She’s learned to use magic but her method of casting is unlike anything I’ve ever seen…”

“Paper glyphs?”

Bump looked at him, shocked.

Yamitay shrugged, “I couldn’t afford to use them in front of others. Not that I ever needed to after I forged my staff.”

Bump huffed, “Of course, your rule of non-interference. I suppose there are a number of other things you know about our world but can’t say?”

Yamitay tilted his head slightly to the side, eyes squinting as he gazed blankly to the ceiling, “Yes and no. It’s a little complicated.”

“Principal Bump!” a voice called out from behind.

The two turned in unison to see a young girl with green hair rushing toward them, a stack of books in her arms. Yamitay noted the pink sleeves and leggings indicating she was in the abomination track. He paused for a moment. It _was_ pink, right? Yes, he was sure of it.

“Ah, if it isn’t our star student!” Bump said excitedly, “What can I do for you?”

The girl took a moment to catch her breath before responding, “Sorry for the interruption, sir. My parents have been asking nonstop about Ed and Em’s punishment for the chimera incident.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll schedule some time tomorrow for them to meet with me in my office. Oh, but where ae my manners? This is our top student, miss Amity Blight. Miss Blight, this is a good friend of mine.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Amity said with a quick bow of her head, smiling. She stared up at him, her smile giving way to a wondrous gaze. There was something about the man standing before her that seemed strange. He had an intimidating air around him, but the way he smiled down at her was kind and gentle.

“Yamitay. Pleasure to meet you, miss Blight.” He said warmly.

He had tanned skin like caramel with a mop of black, wavy hair that covered his ears and curled in some places. His eyes were a light brown and he wore a gauntlet on his left hand that left his fingers exposed after the first knuckle. His clothes consisted of a green tunic that fastened up the center of the front with long, dark-blue sleeves and leggings with a pair of black, knee-high boots. Over all that he wore a purple cloak with a hood hanging around his neck.

Amity couldn’t help but squint the tiniest bit, “You seem familiar.”

Yamitay shrugged, “Guess I just have one of those faces, ah?”

“Run along now, miss Blight.” Bump said with a smile. “It’s getting late, and geniuses need their rest.”

“Yes sir!” Amity replied with another quick bow before running off.

Yamitay waited until she turned the corner as he twirled his staff in his left hand before planning the bottom to the floor, “She’s a very powerful witch. I’m not sure even she knows just how powerful…”

Bump nodded, “She’s the top of her class, and mentors under one of the most famed witches on the Boiling Isles.”

Yamitay glanced out one of the nearby windows and noticed that the sun was starting to go down. His eyes widened and he dashed down the hallway, “Sorry Bump, I gotta go! I’ll talk to you again soon.”

“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Bump exclaimed. He looked at the window and then back, “Oh yes, your evening ritual.”

Yamitay spun, running backwards as he called out, “There’s that, and the chance that I may have a date tonight! Wish me luck!”

Bump raised a brow. “A ‘date’? Is that some new lingo?”

\--

Lilith stood at the cliffside; hands clasped together behind her back as she stared at the glowing horizon. She didn’t have the courage to turn around. What if he was there? What if he saw her looking over her shoulder, waiting for him—anticipating him? Just thinking about it made her want to die of embarrassment.

And then another thought made its way into her mind.

What if he _wasn’t_ there?

What if he didn’t come at all?

She shook her head as if to rid herself of those thoughts. He _would_ come. He said so, after all.

But what if he was just saying that at the time to be polite? What if she has misread the situation entirely and he had no intentions of seeing her again? What if he’d decided that his time watching sunsets was better spent somewhere else—somewhere she wasn’t?

 _That’s enough!_ She wanted to scream it at herself, but if dealing with Edalyn all her life had taught her anything, it was how to keep her cool… At least for the most part. Her sister always had a knack for getting under her skin when she wanted to.

Lilith closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _He’ll be here_ she told herself.

“Heyo!” a familiar voice called out from behind.

Lilith’s eyes shot open and she pivoted to look behind her, hands pulled up to her sides in a sudden jolt of reflex. Seeing Yamitay’s familiar smile fast approaching sent a stab of panic through her chest but it quickly resided and she relaxed herself. She clasped both hands together again, this time over her belly, and her lips curled up into a smile.

“Sorry for running late!” Yamitay exclaimed, still running. Drawing close, he hopped from the ground and spun to his side to land with a slide, but his forefoot caught the ground too hard and he flung himself forward, tumbling face first onto the ground and rolling to lay flat on his back.

Lilith raised a hand to her mouth as she gasped, eyes wide. She wanted to ask if he was alright but he seemed to expect this question.

“You’d think I’d have learned my lesson about trying to look cool.” He said with a sigh. “But no.”

Lilith stifled a laugh, though it could still be heard in her voice as she extended her hand, “Here, let me help you up.”

Yamitay looked at her hand with wide eyes and smiled, taking hold of it.

Lilith blinked. She hadn’t noticed before but his hands felt enormous compared to her own.

Yamitay shifted to one knee and raised himself to his feet. He quickly released her hand and hid his own behind his back as his face began to light up with a faint shade of pink, “Sorry about… Uhm… Y’know.”

“It’s alright.” Lilith said, eyes darting toward the ground.

The two shared a moment of awkward silence, staring off in random directions as if to avoid making direct eye contact.

He spoke with a surprisingly shaky voice, “So, did you—”

“I can’t believe it!” Eda’s voice cu in from behind. “He really _does_ speak!”

Lilith spun to see her sister standing between with hands on hips and apparently inspecting Yamitay from head to toe. “Edalyn!” Lilith hissed. She could feel her face heating up but she couldn’t tell if it was from anger or embarrassment.

Yamitay raised a brow, “So that’s your name, huh? Nice to finally puta name to the face.”

Edalyn waved her hand dismissively, “Ah, call me Eda. This uptight sister of mine is the only one who actually calls me by my full name.”

Yamitay smiled, “Nice to finally, officially meet you, Eda. I’m Yamitay, but you can call me Yami if you want. I’m not particularly fussy about names.”

Edalyn snorted, “That’s not your _real_ name, is it? Sounds pretty silly if ya ask me.”

Lilith resisted the urge to stomp her foot, “Edalyn, please! Don’t be so rude!” She nervously glanced at Yamitay through the corner of her eye but he didn’t appear to be offended in any way. If anything, he seemed to be enjoying her little jabs at him.

“What the heck kinda material is this made of?” Eda gasped, pulling at the end of Yamitay’s cloak. Holding it up close to her face, she stared at it with awe as her fingers gently rubbed the fabric.

“Edalyn!” Lilith whispered.

“Mostly silk, but it’s embedded with Runite.” Yamitay said nonchalantly. He didn’t appear to be bothered in the least!

“Runite?” Lilith said, turning to him. “I don’t believe I’ve heard of that material before.”

Yamitay looked at her with a shrug, “It’s not really from around here.” He held his left hand towards Edalyn, his eyes still fixed on Lilith, “I’ll take my pouch back, if you don’t mind.”

Edayn blinked with surprise and then frowned and reached into her back pocket, “I must be slipping if I got caught _that_ easily.” She produced a cotton pouch that barely seemed to fit in her hand and dropped it into his palm with a quiet clink of what sounded like glass.

“Edalyn, you tried to pickpocket him?” Lilith exclaimed incredulously.

Edalyn shrugged, “I mean… This is _me_ you’re talking to.”

Yamitay fastened the pouch to his belt and reached behind his head, seemingly to grab something, and then produced a little furry, gray demon.

“You too?” Lilith exclaimed.

“I am the king of demons and I answer to no one!” King protested as e squirmed about.

Yamitay set his staff on the ground to let it stand on its own and then held out his now free hand to King, “I’d like my _other_ pouch back now.” he said. Even now, he still didn’t seem bothered by their actions.

“I don’t understand! I was so sneaky!” King whined as he plopped another pouch into the man’s palm.

Yamitay handed him over to Edalyn who took the creature into her arms and held him close.

“So, my sister mentioned that you’re only here for a few days on business.” Edalyn said.

Yamitay nodded, “That’s right; I’ve been looking for someone. Maybe you’ve seen him?”

Edalyn replied, “Probably not. I’ve been holed up at home for the past few weeks.”

Yamitay scratched his chin thoughtfully.

“Edaaaaaa!” a voice called out from the distance.

In unison, the group turned their attention toward a young girl quickly approaching the cliffside, flanked by another girl with glasses and a small boy carrying a magazine.

Edalyn smiled, “Luz! There you are! Do you have any idea how late it is? The sun’s already down!”

Yamitay blinked, eyes wide as he spun to see the horizon before dropping his head and letting out a long sigh of disappointment.

Lilith cursed herself for failing to remind him not to miss the sunset again. At least there was always tomorrow, right? Possibly the day after… Lilith shook herself from that train of thought.

“Sorry Eda.” Luz said, panting. “Willow, Gus, and I wanted to ask you if… Who’s that?”

Lilith glanced to Luz who was pointing at Yamitay.

“Lilith’s new boyfriend, apparently.” Edalyn said with a snide grin.

“Edalyn!” Lilith snapped.

“I’m just kidding!” Edalyn said. “This is Yamitay. He’s kind of a friend.”

Yamitay slowly turned toward the group but as he began, Luz gasped. She pointed again, eyes wide, “You’re like me! You’re human!”

The group gasped as this claim and all eyes seemed to turn to Yamitay who—now facing Luz, hands resting together over the top of his staff which stood before him, his purple cloak fluttering in the wind and the last traces of sunlight framing his presence—said nothing as he raised a brow and smiled.


End file.
